Steak Voranski

Who likes to set fire to things? Who likes alcohol in their food?

If you answered “ME! ME!” then this recipe is indeed for YOU! Warning: this recipe is highly flammable so make sure your head is well away from the action when you flambé. But, it looks really cool, so perform it in front of an audience.

This recipe comes from my very own Van Mullem Family Cookbook, courtesy of my aunt Vicky who took a few French cooking classes. --AnglophileinLA

Ingredients & Directions

Brown Sauce:
2/3 cup water
1 Tb cornstarch (or flour)
1 Knorr beef bouillon cube

In a small saucepan, add cornstarch to cold water and mix. Add bouillon and bring to bubbling. Stir until thickened.

Add:
1 ½ Tb Dijon Mustard
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
5 drops of Tabasco

Steak for four – filet mignon if you have the money
Butter or olive oil (I used garlic olive oil from World Market)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
¼ cup cognac
2/3 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley to garnish

Melt butter (or heat oil) in frying pan. When melted and hot, add the rosemary and let “sweat” for one minute. When bubbly and hot, put in steaks.

For “rare” (about 1 ½ inch thick filets) sauté 4 minutes on each side. Now add the cognac, let it heat up a little, and light it with a very LONG lighter. When I did this, flames shot up about a foot and a half. But, I promise, the flames do die out eventually – no need to grab the extinguisher and ruin your hard work. When the flames die out, remove meat to platter and season with salt and pepper.

Pour brown sauce mixture into the pan, stirring until all the cooking juices are well blended. Pour in cream and let this boil until sauce is thickened and smooth. Pour sauce over meat and mashed potatoes, garnish with parsley and serve.

Bon Appetite!

A Wanderfood Wednesday post.

AnglophileLV’s authentic Beef and Beer Pie

For the past two weeks I’ve been in England enjoying the people, the architecture, the shopping—and the food. Oh yes, the food. Even though the Brits are leaning away from their traditional fare (trading bubble and squeak for a surprising obsession with risotto), I am still quite taken with Bangers and mash, roasted game birds, sausages, and yes, Meat Pies. The meat pie is essentially beef, pork or chicken cooked with onions, carrots and mushrooms to form a thick brown chunky gravy which is then glopped into a puff pastry pie crust and baked to a golden flaky delicious buttery….droool… oh god it’s good. Now that I’m back in the cholesterol-conscious U.S., I’ve been going into withdrawals. Here is my recipe for a traditional London Meat Pie – best enjoyed with copious amounts of beer.

--Anglophile LV

Flakey Crust:
2 cups Flour
1 cup butter
1tsp salt
6 drops lemon juice
Cold water

1. Mix flour and salt.
2. Then mix with butter and lemon, with enough cold water to bind the ingredients together (otherwise it gets very crumbly).
3. Roll out lengthwise and fold over 3 times. Roll out again, and fold 3 times again. Repeat this around 4 times (it’s supposed to help with making it flakey). Now your dough is ready to use.


Filling:
1 lb beef, chopped up to be bite sized (whatever cut is cheapest)
½ onion, chopped
1 russet potato, chopped
2 carrots, chopped small
1 leek chopped
4 cremini mushrooms, chopped
4 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
2 Tb Worcestershire sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes
3-4 Tb flour, mixed with
½ cup beer
1 egg yolk mixed with 1tb water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown beef with onion, garlic and thyme in a large pot.
2. Add potatoes, carrots, leek, mushrooms, beef bouillon cubes and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Pour in enough water to barely cover the potatoes.
4. Cover and simmer 45 minutes (or until potatoes are fork-tender).
5. Add flour/beer mixture and stir until mixture boils and thickens to a thick gravy. Add pepper – you may not need salt since the bouillon is quite salty already.
6. Let filling cool until lukewarm.
7. Roll out pastry and put into a deep dish pie plate –OR- do like I did, and make little individual meat pies out of small loaf pans. Roll out the pastry and press the tops of the loaf pans into it, outlining your pie tops. Press the rest of the pastry into the pan(s) to form the lower crust, and top with the other pastry you just cut out.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
9. Remove pie(s) and brush the tops with the egg wash.
10. Continue baking for about 15 minutes, or until crust is golden.